Vandals destroy disabled toilet and water feature at Gainsborough park

This act of vandalism happened at the beginning of May and members of Gainsborough Town Council have spoken of their disappointment at this incident.

Leader of Gainsborough Town Council, Councillor Matthew Boles, said: “The recent vandalism at Richmond Park is both saddening and disgusting, there is absolutely no excuse for this kind of behaviour.

“The park is a wonderful asset to the town and is enjoyed by so many people, including me and my daughter.

“The fact that we have members of our community that think these mindless acts are acceptable leaves me greatly concerned.

“As a council we are well aware that during the summer months petty vandalism does slightly increase. This is a trend over many years and something with have reluctantly come to accept, these incidents however are total unacceptable and I would urge anybody with any information to please come forward.

“We have been very excited about some massive investments being made by the council into Richmond Park to improve it for the residents of the town but then incidents like this make you think, is it worth it?

“I can assure you these individuals will not succeed and we will continue to improve the sites which we operate.

“The council has for some time been considering our options in terms of CCTV in partnership with West Lindsey District Council and this work is continuing and, in the not to distant future, should be complete.

“This is not a cheap option but has become necessary due to these continued mindless acts.”

Admin support officer at Gainsborough Town Council, Penny Rourke, said: “There has been a quite big public outcry and show of disgust in response to the vandalism that has happened.

“The message we would like to send to the people is ultimately, they are taking money out of their own pocket because the more we have to deal with these incidents and the more money we incur in tidying up damage and paying insurance premiums, the more Council Tax goes up and the more money families locally have to pay for Council Tax, which is less money to go directly to individuals.

“We have already introduced CCTV to cover the Aviary which has been subjected to a lot of vandalism in recent times and we are now looking to extend that across the rest of the site and we will be working with West Lindsey District Council in relation to that.”